Healthy Recipe: Cranberry-Pear Wild Rice Stuffing

This Cranberry-Pear Wild Rice Stuffing Is Protein-Packed!

If stuffing is your Thanksgiving obsession, here's a healthier recipe that's jam-packed with fiber-licious tender pears and chewy wild rice. Made with whole-grain bread instead of the usual white or sourdough and naturally sweetened with dried cranberries and freshly pressed apple cider, the smells from your kitchen are sure to send your family into an autumnal overload.

For just 178 calories per savory serving, this stuffing is also vegan, so it'll make your non-turkey-and-butter-eating guests super stoked.

Aside from a side dish for your usual T-Day meal, this would also be a delicious main dish for any night of the week when topped with roasted butternut squash or chicken. Or pack it for lunch with a crisp side salad — it stores well and tastes even better the next day.

Directions

Bring the broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir in the wild rice, then cover and simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet. Add the onion, and sauté until translucent. Add the celery, and sauté over medium heat until both are golden.

Combine the onion-celery mixture with the cooked wild rice and all the remaining ingredients except the apple juice in a mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. Drizzle the apple juice in slowly, stirring all the while, until the mixture is evenly moistened.

Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled, large shallow baking dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top begins to get slightly crusty.

I'd love to try this, but it probably won't go over too well at Thanksgiving. Our family is super-traditional: it HAS to be the cornbread dressing my mom makes every year. I think I'll probably make this the day after Thanksgiving to eat with our leftover turkey.

can i say again how much i love you! i'm so used to people making stuffing in ways that i can't eat them since there's always some type of chicken stock, or butter or something that i just can't have. this one looks great and i might have to do a test run over the weekend.